25 Jul 2014
Matthew 4:18-22
Matthew 4:18: “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”
It looks like Peter and Andrew (which were brothers) may have been some of the first disciples that Jesus called. They were fishermen, and were busy fishing when Jesus came by. However, the moment He spoke to them they dropped what they were doing and followed Him. Their old lives vanished, just like that, and they left everything behind. That is really quite remarkable! They didn’t even debate or ask questions; they just followed Him.
Matthew 4:21: “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”
Here we have the next two disciples: James and John, also brothers, who were called the sons of thunder. They were also fishermen, and as soon as Jesus called them they dropped everything and followed Him. They actually left their father standing there and walked away! Jesus called and they answered without hesitation. They were willing to sacrifice everything to follow Christ.
I have to ask: are we willing to sacrifice anything to follow Christ? Or do our lives (and our personal comfort) matter more to us than following our Lord?